Community Healthcare Trust (NYSE:CHCT) Share Price Breaks Below 50-Day Moving Average - Here's Why

Key Points

• CHCT shares fell below their 50-day moving average, trading as low as $12.58 versus the $14.38 average, while the 200-day average stood at $16.43.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but leans toward “Hold”: the consensus price target is $17, with Truist and Piper Sandler recently lowering their targets to $17 and $14, respectively.
• The REIT missed quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, while cutting its quarterly dividend from $0.48 to $0.33 per share. The revised payout implies a 10.3% yield but a high 197% dividend payout ratio.

Community Healthcare Trust Incorporated (NYSE:CHCT - Get Free Report) shares crossed below its fifty day moving average during trading on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $14.38 and traded as low as $12.58. Community Healthcare Trust shares last traded at $12.7550, with a volume of 440,662 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CHCT. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Community Healthcare Trust from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Huntington initiated coverage on Community Healthcare Trust in a report on Friday, July 17th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $20.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded Community Healthcare Trust from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Community Healthcare Trust from $17.00 to $14.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $17.00.

Community Healthcare Trust Stock Down 3.7%

The firm's 50-day moving average is $14.38 and its 200-day moving average is $16.43. The company has a market cap of $365.43 million, a PE ratio of 19.04 and a beta of 0.68.

Community Healthcare Trust (NYSE:CHCT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.11 by ($0.05). Community Healthcare Trust had a return on equity of 4.96% and a net margin of 16.81%. The company had revenue of $30.97 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.77 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Community Healthcare Trust Incorporated will post 1.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Community Healthcare Trust Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th were issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. This is a negative change from Community Healthcare Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.3%. Community Healthcare Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 197.01%.

Insider Activity at Community Healthcare Trust

In other news, CEO David H. Dupuy bought 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $15.13 per share, with a total value of $151,300.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 557,262 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,431,374.06. The trade was a 1.83% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert Z. Hensley bought 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $15.21 per share, with a total value of $121,680.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 103,702 shares in the company, valued at $1,577,307.42. This trade represents a 8.36% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 5.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Community Healthcare Trust

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Community Healthcare Trust in the 2nd quarter worth about $48,221,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Community Healthcare Trust by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 389,811 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $6,194,000 after acquiring an additional 7,975 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of Community Healthcare Trust by 34.1% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 360,542 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $5,729,000 after acquiring an additional 91,740 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Community Healthcare Trust in the 2nd quarter worth about $4,607,000. Finally, Palisade Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Community Healthcare Trust during the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,881,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.84% of the company's stock.

About Community Healthcare Trust

Community Healthcare Trust Incorporated is a real estate investment trust focused on owning and operating healthcare-related properties. The company primarily invests in facilities that provide outpatient healthcare services, including medical office buildings, physician clinics, specialty facilities, behavioral health properties, ambulatory surgery centers and other healthcare-focused real estate.

Community Healthcare Trust generally targets properties located in non-urban and underserved communities across the United States.

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